Long Night
by AmacLucky13
Summary: In a final showdown with Slade Wilson gives Oliver Queen a choice, he can either save Laurel Lance or he can save Felicity Smoak, but he can't save both. Olicity centric. Canon through 2x12.


**A.N. So, this was rattling around in my head. It had to come out so I could think straight again. HOPE YOU LIKE IT. ;) **

**ENJOY! ;)**

* * *

Long Night

Felicity had never felt so tired in her entire life, but somehow sleeping was no longer coming to her. Instead, she felt like she was lying on a cloud, the softest thing in the world, and surrounded by such a comforting warmth so much she didn't want to move from her spot. Not that her body really did want to move either. She was sore and achy in all the wrong ways. She felt tired and all she wanted to do was doze off again but she just couldn't. Her brain had started rolling again, her brain was waking up, and there was little she could do to stop it now. There were so many questions rolling through her head at this very moment.

Where was she? The last thing she could remember was being in the back of a car with Diggle and Oliver headed to somewhere when she dozed off. This had not been a good night by any means. It started off fine. She was at the office like normal shutting everything down as Oliver made his way out for the night. It was routine, it was normal, and in a lot of ways it was nice. The time of day when pretty much everyone who works there filters0000000 out for the night leaving Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle alone. It was the time of day when they didn't have to be anyone but themselves. They could talk freely and be comfortable in their own skin without worrying who might overhear or come up to bother them. It was moments like those they all lived for, when they weren't fighting so hard to save the city, and when they weren't pretending to be a CEO, an EA, and a bodyguard because that's exactly what they do everyday. Pretend to be people they aren't. However, the time between work ending for everyone else, and beginning their routine every night in the foundry was calming. It had been a normal enough night as they shut down everything in the office. Dig had gone down to get the car like he always does when Oliver is ready to go.

* * *

_"__Almost done?" Oliver asked as he stepped out of his office where Felicity was typing away on her computer. "Felicity?"_

_"__Huh?" Felicity peered over her glasses at Oliver. "Sorry, I'm a little distracted, aren't I? Did you need something?"_

_"__I wanted to know if you were almost done." Oliver asked again, patiently. "I was thinking about grabbing some dinner for us on the way over to the club. Did you want me to grab you anything specific?"_

_"__I could really go for a Big Belly Burger. I have missed those since we don't get to go there as much what with Dig's and Carly's break-up." Felicity answered. "Not that I mind because I don't. I understand Dig's bound to not want to be around anything that could remind him of Carly but I love those burgers and I'm babbling. Which will stop in 3... 2... 1..." _

_"__Big Belly Burger?" Oliver smiled. "I think that can be arranged." _

_Oliver winked at her before he turned on his heel towards the elevators. Felicity felt a small smile begin to tug on the edges of her mouth as she turned back to her computer screen to continue typing away. She heard the elevator door ding as it opened to let Oliver get on. Felicity heard a soft chuckle causing her to look up at Oliver once more. He peered out of the elevator doors with a thoughtful expression on his face. _

_"__What?" Felicity asked, impatiently. She couldn't help but wonder what was causing him to chuckle, usually she could figure out what peaked his humor. Well, because normally that's something silly coming out of her mouth._

_"__Don't get lost in your computer." Oliver answered. "Wouldn't want your burger to get cold." _

_"__You seem to forget you're the one who is always late." Felicity shook her head. "Not me."_

_Oliver merely nodded with a small smile playing at the corners of his lips, she could see amusement in his eyes as he accepted that answer because it was the truth. She wasn't the one constantly late for everything, he was. Oliver nodded as he stepped back into the elevator to head downstairs. Felicity shook her head looking back at her computer hoping she could get this down before she left, but if she didn't she could always transfer it, and keep working on it tonight at the foundry instead. After all, those computers might be more equipped anyway. Oliver may have upgraded this computers but it didn't stop her from furthering doing so because she wanted them to be to her preferences, not someone else's. _

* * *

A normal night, who would have known so much could go wrong? Felicity wondered to herself. She never did get that burger, she didn't even get to see the burger never mind getting to eat it. Hell, she hadn't even made it to the foundry that night. Her stomach grumbled loudly making it's hunger known. For the first time she realized she hadn't eaten since lunch with Oliver and Diggle earlier that day at the office. Aside from a small snack she had in between because she knew eating dinner would be far off. Of course, at the time she didn't realize it would be quite this far off from lunch. Maybe she would've had a bigger snack or told Oliver she needed dinner then or maybe just gone home to maybe hide in the closet. Something so simple suddenly became a monumental task. She was just supposed to meet up with Diggle and Oliver at the foundry so they could get to work protecting the city. They had both said it had been pretty quiet for the last few days, so they weren't expecting much trouble. Of course, they should all know better by now.

When things seem like they're getting better we should know they're only going to get much, much worse before they actually get any kind of better. Things that are quiet are bad. The city's criminals sleeping, not such a good thing after all. Maybe they were getting out of the way. Maybe they thought after tonight there would be no need to worry about Arrow anymore because he would've been gone or too broken to get up to stop any of them anymore. Felicity still felt tired but as she thought about what happened tonight she could still feel a rush of adrenaline racing through her. Tonight sucked.

* * *

_Felicity was just about finished when she heard the heating vent in the office turn on. She began saving and shutting down her computer as she carefully locked everything she had been doing away on an encrypted file before she locked her computer. It was password protected, plus her encryption would keep anyone unwanted away from things better left unseen. She was standing in front of her desk with her bag propped up there as she packed it up carefully putting everything away for the night when she first noticed something was very wrong. She shook her head as a fog started taking over her head. She felt sluggish like she was moving through jello._

_She turned looking at the heating vent to see a very fine mist coming through the vent. She covered her mouth but she was sure the damage was already done. She would pass out soon enough, she wasn't sure what was coming through the vent but she could tell enough to know it wasn't meant to kill her. It was only meant to knock her out or whoever was here was only supposed to be knocked out. Someone wasn't trying to kill her only subdue her. _

_Felicity moved as well as she could towards the elevators keeping her mouth and nose as well covered as she could in the crook of her elbow. The room was swinging back and forth with every step forward. She grabbed the wall to steady herself giving her some perspective on the room around her as she walked. It gave her an idea of straight and she knew the elevators would be dead across from the wall to her left. Her brain felt sluggish as she tried to get to the elevator. She managed to push the button to get down to the lobby as she crashed into the other wall. Fresh air, she needed clean air. Something to clean the cobwebs of her brain away. She needed to get to the lobby if she was going to pass out. Maybe then she could at least tell the night guard to call Oliver before whoever did this came to retrieve her. She was almost positive someone would be coming for her. She jabbed at the button again hoping the doors would open, that the elevator would be empty too. She was hoping something would break her way. The elevator doors slid open. The small box was empty._

_Felicity felt a stab of relief as she moved towards the elevator, however, she soon realized she couldn't move. Not because her motor functions were seriously in trouble but because something was holding her back, vaguely she could feel something banded around her forearm. She turned her head slowly coming face to face with a half black and half orange mask with cold and unforgiving eyes beneath it. _

_"__Felicity Smoak," the raspy and deep voice beneath it spoke evenly. "You've been a hard woman to find." _

_"__Slade Wilson," Felicity answered realizing who she was face to face with, so to speak. "You should be dead. Twice now."_

_"__I'm not easily killed." Slade countered. "I'm very good at not dying. But I am good at making my enemies suffer, so you're coming with me."_

_Felicity felt herself falling deeper and deeper until there was nothing but blackness surrounding her. Her last thought before the blackness claimed her was a prayer Oliver would realize something was wrong, sooner rather than later. She hoped he wouldn't think she got lost in her computers, that he would realize something was wrong when she didn't show up, and he would come looking for her. Yet at the same time she couldn't help but wish he wouldn't too. Slade Wilson, he should have died on the island but he also should have died in Starling City too. However, he has survived, and now he's coming for Oliver. She couldn't help but want Oliver to be safe, even if it meant risking her own safety to protect him. _

* * *

Felicity could feel the fog weighing heavily on her mind begin to clear as she started to wake up even further than she had been before. Her eyes slowly slide open but they felt heavy so the closed again just as quickly as they opened. She didn't know how long it took for her to open her eyes and to keep them open but once she did she instantly became aware she was not in her bedroom. She didn't recognize any of her surroundings, in fact, nothing around her seemed any kind of familiar. She turned around slowly feeling multiple points along her body disagree with the idea of moving altogether. Most of her body and even her mind were yelling for her to simply sit still. She ignored them. She was much more curious to know where she was at the moment.

First and foremost she took in the bed she was currently laying in. It was huge, definitely a king size bed with the softest blankets she had ever felt. The pillows and the mattress felt like she was lying on clouds. She propped herself up to look around because when she tried to sit up her head spun ending up back on the pillow anyway. Huge TV, leather couches, and numerous other expensive items scattered across the room Felicity took a guess to say she was probably at the Queen residence. She wondered how Oliver got her in here without raising too much suspicion since she was probably fast asleep when he brought her inside. However, if no one had seen him walking in with her how was he planning on explaining this to everyone the next morning when she just appeared? Maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was. Who knew? Briefly, she wondered if she should get up to go find Oliver but the thought of trying to stand after sitting up was a disaster made her head spin.

Then – of course – Felicity heard the shower running not too far away and she turned her head to see steam coming out of the bathroom connected to the room. Her jaw dropped slightly considering for the first time she might not be in a guest room at the mansion but in Oliver's room with him nearby. With him nearby in the shower. With him nearby naked in the shower. With Oliver Queen nearby and naked in the shower. What the hell?

A million thoughts went racing through her head. If someone else was here she'd probably have started babbling like a crazy person because she couldn't for the life of her know why she was here. Why would Oliver bring her here? Why didn't he bring her home? Felicity could have understood if she had woken up in her own bed with Diggle and Oliver sleeping in her apartment. She could have seen it if she had woken up at home in her bed with Oliver sleeping in the chair she keeps in there for reading late at night before she goes to bed. She could have also understood if Diggle had slept in her living room because neither one of them would be comfortable leaving her alone after she was kidnapped. That she could have understood. But this, well, this was not something she could understand. Why would Oliver bring her here but not home?

Her vision, her head both began spinning again so she let her head drop back down to the pillow. The soft comfortable warm pillow. She had no idea how long it was before her eyes began to slip closed again. All the thinking and wondering tiring her out so she could doze off. When she woke again she heard someone moving around the room. Felicity supposed she and Oliver were spending far too much time together if she knew it was him moving around without even opening her eyes. The sound of his silent footsteps, the feeling of something big and powerful moving about, and him moving various objects around the room. It sounded so familiar to her. Those were things she heard him do in his office all day long, things she heard him doing while they were at the foundry. She had gotten so used to him and the way he walked practically spending all her time with him that she knew what he sounded like moving through a room even though he made practically no sound at all. It was just like she could sense him near. Felicity managed to pry her eyes open long enough to see Oliver standing by his drawers wearing a pair of sweatpants and nothing else. A sight she was used to but so unused to as well. Seeing him without a shirt was a normal occurrence for her but she still couldn't help but drool despite it.

"Hey," she croaked her throat dry.

Oliver spun around to look at her. For a moment he didn't say a word instead he just walked over to the bed to lean against the edge like he does by her desk so often. His eyes were soft as he looked at her. His gaze traveled from her face down the length of her body and back up like he couldn't believe she was really her.

"Hey," he said, voice heavy with emotion. An emotion she couldn't read, much like the softness taking over his eyes. "How do you feel?"

"Tired," she admitted. "Hungry too."

"Oh," Oliver's eyes widened. "You probably haven't eaten since lunch. Never did get the chance to eat one of those Big Belly Burgers I bought for you."

"What a waste of a burger." Felicity said mournfully. "Those burgers are too good to waste."

"I'll get you something to eat." Oliver nodded. "There's food in the kitchen. I'll be right back. Just... Stay here, okay?"

"Okay," Felicity nodded unsure why he needed to be sure she wasn't going anywhere. "I won't move. Not that I could anyway. Sitting up seems to be a challenge for me right now, my head keeps spinning every time I tried before."

"You woke up?" Oliver asked. There was a sadness in his eyes. Something she knew, he usually seemed sad. There were very few times he seemed to be happy, carefree, light, like the weight of the world wasn't on his shoulders. "When?"

"I'm not sure." Felicity admitted. "It was only for a few minutes though. Then I fell right back to sleep. Your bed is very comfortable."

"Oh," Oliver nodded. "I'll be right back."

Oliver left the room without a word. Felicity why it was such a bad thing she had woken up before. Had he not wanted her to wake up? Why would he want that? Maybe he wanted to be there when you woke up, so you wouldn't think you were all alone, and you would know he was there for you. A small voice in the back of her mind betrayed her thinking about why she wanted him to have that sad look on his face because just maybe he felt something for her too. Felicity shook her head pushing those thoughts to the side because she had been trying so hard for months now to push any and all feelings she had for Oliver aside.

Ever since Russia when she first realized how deep she had already begun to care for him when she watched Isobel walk out of his hotel room she had tried so hard to keep a lid on what she felt. For a few different reasons truth be told. She understood Oliver's reasons for not wanting to be in another relationship because it would put his other half into more danger than necessary. She understood it for everyone else he might have feelings for like Laurel or Mckenna but not for herself. Unlike the two of them she knew the dangers and unlike the two of them she would be a target for Arrow's enemies anyway because of her role in the team. However, she wouldn't push him to be in a relationship if he did have feelings for her. It wouldn't be right, not to her so she would have respected his wishes. She also kept a tight lid on her feelings because she knew Oliver didn't feel the same way. They were friends and the last thing she wanted was to jeopardize the friendship not because it was better than nothing but because she just wanted to be his friend. She is his friend and he is hers. There is nothing worth ruining it over. Plus, she also didn't want to ruin the team's rhythm. They had a good thing going together the three of them, a relationship could screw that up much like a relationship can screw up any working partnership. The last thing in the world she wanted was for Diggle or Oliver to be out in the field without her watching their backs. It would put them into more danger than she wanted for either of them. She would never be able to forgive herself if something happened to one of them because she and Oliver were fighting. It was why putting aside their problems to work together in the field had been so easy with Shrapnel.

That was her last reason: There were more important things to worry about than how she feels for Oliver Queen. There was his company to save and then to run. She had a cover to maintain. Laurel was self-destructing. Sarah was alive. Barry showed up to learn Oliver's secret. His mother. His sister. There were so many other things going on that bringing a relationship into that just might make everything harder and more complicated. Not that she ever thought there would be a better time but she knew right now Oliver needed a friend, not a love interest. So, she pushed her feelings to the back of her mind and dealt with everything else.

For the most part it was easy enough to handle. Aside from Oliver's comments every once and while, the way he looked at her sometimes. The way he dragged her into things she shouldn't normally be a part of but she understood because like he had said he relied on her. He needed her. He was showing her how much. Of course, it didn't help her small crush from growing despite her best attempts to keep it locked away. The way his face didn't seem as hard or heavy when he looked at her sometimes. The way his eyes lit up around her like when she told him he certainly knew how to talk himself out of victory. There were other moments when he acted like he was more than just a friend towards her, when he said something most boyfriends would say. For example when he commented on her hacking into a prison system network, she thought he was being judgmental because she had never really heard that tone before, but instead he was talking with pride. For her.

"Here," Oliver said.

She was so lost in her own thoughts she didn't even notice him walking back into the room with a small table designed for use in bed or on a couch. Felicity wondered how long she had been lost in her thoughts because he had a burger and fries sitting on a plate for her. She shot him a look.

"I know it's not Big Belly Burger, but I do know how to cook." Oliver placed the table on the bed before he helped her to sit up. "I know what you like on your burger so I just threw it together for you. I thought this would be better than just a snack since I know for a fact you never had dinner tonight."

"Thanks," Felicity smiled.

"I do have a question though." Oliver eyed her thoughtfully. She raised an eyebrow. "Do you want Advil or a glass of red wine?"

"Wine," Felicity answered. "Please."

Oliver held up a bottle of red wine before he opened the bottle and poured some into a glass for her then into one for himself as well. He sat down on the bed with her as she ate. The more food she got into her stomach the clearer her head got. Her headache she hadn't even realized she had at the moment disappeared so she figured it was probably a hunger headache. She was very familiar with those considering all the times she lost track of time while she was working in the IT Department or when she was in college and she forgot to eat or to use the bathroom. They didn't bother her as much as they used to. Normally she just ignored the pain between her temples, that was probably why she hadn't even realized it was there until it was gone. The room stopped spinning every time she moved too quickly and the wine calmed her frayed nerves, something she was very grateful for at the moment. Oliver just sat with her watching while she ate her food. She would find his silence disconcerting if she wasn't used to the silence from Oliver. He wasn't the most talkative man in the world but then again with her around no one really needed to be very talkative, she did enough for the both of them.

"Feel better?" Oliver asked after she finished wolfing down the food. "Did you even taste it?"

"Much," she nodded. "I tasted it, not that I think it mattered because I was so hungry. Not that I'm saying your cooking was bad just that I was so hungry I don't think it would have mattered because I would have eaten it even if it was bad. But it wasn't, it was actually really good. I didn't mean for that to sound so shocking when I said it was good because it's not surprising. I've just never seen or knew you could cook but I suppose I should have since you were on an island for five years. Would have had to learn how to cook something there, I would guess. I'm going to stop talking in 3... 2... 1... Why did you let me ramble like that?!"

"It was cute." Oliver answered.

Everything stopped.

"Did Oliver Queen just call her cute?" She wondered, apparently out loud.

"Yes," Oliver answered.

"Oops," Felicity blushed. "That wasn't supposed to come out."

"A tendency with you as I have happened to notice over the last few years with you." Oliver smiled warmly. "But it's okay, I don't mind. Not nearly as much as I think you do."

"Why did you bring me here?" Felicity asked. She couldn't hold her question in anymore. "I mean, not that I mind being here with you. But I fully expected to wake up in my own bed just with you and Diggle conked out in my apartment somewhere so you wouldn't have to leave me alone. Care to explain?"

Oliver seemed to ponder her question before he stood up to take the table off of the bed to put it on the floor a little ways away from the bed in case she got up. He plucked her glass from the table to place in it on the night table by the bed. Before he sat down in front of her again taking her hand squeezing it gently before he looked at her with his serious face. The one he had on when he told her it would be better if he wasn't with someone he could really care about.

"I was going to." Oliver answered. "But then I realized I didn't want you out of my sight. I know I could have stayed with you the whole night at your place but it's safer here. There are more guards, more people to get through here. I wouldn't have to worry as much about you being okay and maybe I could sleep here, knowing your safe. So, I brought you here instead."

"Oh," she said.

"I could bring you home, if you want." Oliver offered. "You don't have to stay here if you don't feel comfortable."

"No, I don't mind." Felicity answered. "But how did you manage to sneak me past Thea or your mother?"

"I didn't," Oliver shrugged. "They both know your here."

"What?" Felicity asked alarmed suddenly. "Oliver!"

"They don't mind." Oliver answered. "Walter was here tonight. He was worried about you and so was Thea."

"Thea?" Felicity asked confused.

"She has met you, on more than one occasion, in fact." Oliver pointed out. "Walter came over to ask if I knew anything about what was going on, when he couldn't find me he settled for my mother and Thea. Both of whom – apparently – threatened several people to find out everything the police knew in order to help Walter find out what was going on. Thea and my mother were waiting up in the living room when Dig and I came in with you. Walter was thrilled to see you were alright, he said he would stop by in the morning to see you. I'm almost positive my sister will grill us in the morning since she didn't do it tonight. I could almost see the wheels spinning in her head when I said you would be staying here tonight. Of course, they don't know I didn't put you in one of the guest rooms."

"Grill me?"

"I know she wanted to pry but I think she could tell I wasn't in the mood for 20 questions." Oliver explained. "I just wanted to get you someplace safe, take a shower, and get some sleep."

"Why didn't you put me in one of the guest rooms?" Felicity motioned to the mansion. "I'm sure with how big this place is, you probably have several very nice rooms I could sleep in without getting into any trouble."

"I told you, I wanted to keep you in sight." Oliver answered looking her in the eye. "I needed to know you were safe."

"Where were you planning on sleeping?" Felicity asked before she could stop herself.

"On the couch," Oliver waved towards his leather couch.

It was already made up with a pillow and blanket for him to sleep on. After a moment she looked back and could see Oliver was frowning at something so she looked down at herself. She could see she was still wearing the day's outfit but it was covered in dirt, sweat, and a few other thing she didn't even want to identify. Her hair was still up in a messy ponytail. Without a word Oliver rose from the side of the bed again walking over to his drawers to dig around inside until he found what he was looking for.

"Here," Oliver handed her a t-shirt of his and an old pair of sweatpants. "If you want, you can take a shower. There's clean towels on a rack in the bathroom by the shower. Or you can just get changed if you want. It might be more comfortable if you weren't wearing a dress to bed."

"Thanks," Felicity smiled.

Oliver helped her get to her feet which she was grateful for because she wasn't sure the world wasn't going to spin on her but it didn't. She walked herself into the bathroom so she could just get changed. However, she changed her mind when she saw the shower deciding maybe it would be nice to jump into the shower to clean off the horrible day she's had. She could wash away all the dirt and grime, not to mention a shower just helps melt away everything bad that happened over the day. Like a fresh start. Maybe it would help her to forget the horrible day she's had. Maybe it will help her understand why Oliver is being far more overprotective than normal because last time she checked it hadn't just been her in serious trouble. Why was Oliver so much more concerned about her safety than anything else? Felicity grabbed a few towels placing them on the side of the tub and the clothes Oliver had given her on the toilet before she got into the shower.

After her shower she put on the nice warm comfortable clothes that smelled faintly like Oliver before she returned to the bedroom. She half expected to see Oliver sleeping on the couch when she came out but she also was half expecting him to be waiting right where she left him. What she wasn't expecting was to find Oliver on the phone sitting at his desk. She walked out into the room slowly so she didn't disturb him, but Oliver got up when he saw her come out.

"Here, why don't you just talk to her for yourself?" Oliver handed her the phone. He stood in front of her with his arms folded waiting expectantly. He muttered something she didn't quite catch but it did sound a little like: "Overbearing big brother."

"Hello?" She shot Oliver a puzzled look.

"Felicity," a relieved voice answered. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Dig." Felicity answered. She could tell Dig had been giving Oliver a hard time by Oliver's reaction when she took the phone. "Nothing a good night's sleep won't solve. Go get some rest, you sound tired."

"Oliver okay?" Diggle asked after a moment of silence.

"He's fine," Felicity's eyes flashed to Oliver briefly. "Why?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Diggle answered. "Just get some rest, and try not to get into anymore trouble tonight because I can only take one heart failure a day."

"I won't." Felicity answered. "And I'm going to hold you to that promise, don't think I'll forget it."

"I have no doubt." Diggle sounded like he was smiling. "Goodnight."

"Night," Felicity handed the phone back.

"Night Dig," Oliver spoke into the phone. "I'll see you tomorrow. Yes, first thing in the morning. Just get some rest, you deserve it. I know you were on edge. If you don't get some rest I swear I'll fire you. Goodnight, Diggle."

"Dig okay?" Felicity asked.

"He was worried about you tonight." Oliver said softly. "It didn't help I made him sit on the sidelines tonight."

"Why did you do that?" Felicity asked confused. "He's your partner, your friend."

"Exactly," Oliver shook his head. "I already put you in danger! I knew Slade would kill him first, I knew he would because this was supposed to be just my fight with him. Not Diggle's. He wouldn't let him come between him and his little game. All it would have done bringing Diggle with me, is cause me to lose a good friend, and I couldn't let that happen."

"Don't blame yourself." Felicity shook her head. "This isn't your fault. What happened between you and Slade isn't all your fault. I put myself in danger by standing with you. That's not your fault."

"Yes, it is." Oliver nodded. "I did this."

"What do you mean?" Felicity asked. "I did this. I choose to help you Oliver, it comes with risks. I know those risks, it's my fault _I'm _in danger! Not you. Not everything in the world is your fault."

"Slade didn't come after you because you work with me." Oliver answered. "He wanted to hurt me. He came after you because he wanted to me, to make me pay for what happened to Shado."

* * *

_Blinking slowly Felicity came to. She didn't know how long she had been out but apparently it had been long enough to get her out of Queen Consolidated and to wherever she is right now. It was dark. That was what she knew, she could barely see anything around her. But what she could make out, it seemed to be just giant metal box. Four walls all around looking to be made out of some kind of heavy metal. It was quiet. So quiet she could hear a pin drop. With one light just above her to her left. Where was she? Why couldn't she even hear the sounds of the city? The sounds of the water? Were the big heavy metal doors blocking out all the sound? Does that mean they're blocking the sound from escaping too? Is that why she was brought here? Because no one will be able to hear her scream? No one will hear her calling for help? _

_Felicity looked down at herself still feeling out of it at the moment as she did so. She was tied to a chair with those annoying plastic zip-ties. She was really beginning to hate those things. She tugged despite knowing it was relatively pointless to do so. In order to get the teeth on these things to slip she would need to jam something into it to pry the teeth from the catch. Unfortunately, even if she could find something she couldn't reach the teeth, they were on the bottom of the arms of the chair she was currently tied to. Slade must have done it on purpose so she couldn't escape. Felicity turned to look around her wondering where he was at the moment since everything was so quiet but what she saw wasn't what or who she was expecting. Tied in exactly the same manner as she was to a chair was Laurel Lance, who unlike her was still out cold. Felicity looked around further alarmed wondering where Slade was right now. She wanted to know what he had planned. She hated mysteries, they needed to be solved, and she needed answers. However, as she turned to look at as much of the room as she possibly could she didn't see anyone else. _

_"__Laurel!" Felicity called. "Laurel! Wake up! Laurel!" _

_The other woman moaned in response, her head lolling from one side to the other but she didn't wake up. Felicity sighed, they needed to find a way out of here. Right now, whatever Slade was planning he clearly wanted to get to Oliver. They needed to go right now before they were used as leverage in some kind of evil, twisted plot. But in order to do that, Laurel first needs to wake up._

_"__Laurel!" Felicity called again. "Wake up! Come on!" _

_"__Ugh," Laurel shook her head. "What the hell? Where am I? What happened?"_

_"__All very good questions," Felicity answered causing Laurel to jump and turn sharply to her right to look at Felicity. "I don't know much. I don't know where we are. I don't know exactly what's going on. But I do know we've both been kidnapped and we need to get out of here, right now." _

_"__I know you." Laurel said softly shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I'm completely blanking on your name." _

_"__Felicity," she offered. "Felicity Smoak. We need to find a way out of here."_

_"__I'm open to suggestions." Laurel nodded. "Sticking around doesn't seem like a good idea."_

_"__Well, that's just too damn bad." A deep raspy voice said appearing out of the shadows like he was part of them. Laurel jumped, Felicity flinched. "Because the guest of honor has just arrived and the two of you are going to help me. I'm afraid leaving isn't an option for both of you."_

_"__What does that mean?" Laurel demanded. "Who's here? What is going on?"_

_Felicity on the other hand didn't have to ask questions, instead she turned to look in front of them opposite from where Slade had appeared from behind them. Through the darkness she could see a familiar green silhouette walking towards them with his bow drawn, arrow notched at the ready. Behind her she saw Slade move faster than anyone else, faster than even Oliver could move to pull two guns. One in each hand, one pointed at both her and Laurel. Faster than Oliver could aim to kill Slade, he was holding both of their lives in the palm of his hands. Suddenly, everything made complete sense. Oliver was going to be forced to choose, one or the other. That's what Slade meant when he said leaving wasn't an option for both of them. Whoever, Oliver didn't choose or did choose was going to get a bullet in the head. Felicity supposed it all depended on how this went. Oliver didn't stop moving forward until Slade spoke._

_"__I think that's close enough." Slade decreed. A light above Oliver flickered on bathing him in light. His face was still hidden in the darkness of the hood, protecting his secret from Laurel. "It seems you have a choice to make old friend. What will it be?"_

_"__Don't do this," Oliver pleaded, his voice blocked by his voice changer. "We're friends, Slade."_

_"__No we're not!" Slade snapped his voice harsh and angry. His eyes were alight with anger when Felicity chanced a glance back at him. "Friends don't kill their friends' love of their life. Friends don't shoot each other in the eye! Friends don't leave them for dead!"_

_"__I am your friend." Oliver answered gently, sounding regretful, and sad. "I never met for her to die."_

_"__You killed her!" Slade roared anger fully encompassed his voice. "She cared for you and you let her die like she was nothing! It's your fault she's gone! It's your fault she's not with me right now! So, choose! I pull this trigger at the same time. Only enough time to get one shot off, only enough time to save one of them. Who will it be? Who will you save?"_

_"__Don't do this." Oliver pleaded again. No one else might notice because they didn't know Oliver as well as she did, but she could hear a slight edge of a panic to his voice. He was scared. "They have nothing do with what happened. Let them go!"_

_"__Only one of them will be going free tonight." Slade promised. "You'll have to live with that on your conscious for the rest of your life. Like Shado. Although, do you even feel bad about what happened to Shado? Or did you just let it roll right off your back like she was nothing to you?! Did you even care what happened to her?! Do you even think about her?!" _

_"__I think about what happened every day." Oliver whispered. "I wish I could have saved her. I wish I could have done something more. But I couldn't."_

_"__Wouldn't!" Slade snapped. "You wouldn't do something more! You let her die! It's your fault!"_

_"__I never meant for it to happen." Oliver shook his head. "I wish I could change it."_

_"__Choose!" Slade demanded. _

_Despite how dark it was Felicity could still see Oliver's eyes beneath the hood. She could see him desperately looking back and forth between her and Laurel. He wanted to save both of them, but she knew he would never be able to if Slade pulled the triggers at the same time. She turned to look at Laurel who was so shell shocked she seemed at a loss for a moment before she turned to look up at Slade with terrified eyes._

_"__Please don't do this!" Laurel pleaded, sounding broken. "Please... Please... Don't do this."_

_Felicity turned back to Oliver seeing his eyes lock with hers, she ignored the sound of Laurel talking to Slade. Slade appeared to being ignoring her as well. There was no pleading for our lives with Slade, Felicity thought. The choice wasn't up to him as far as he was concerned it was up to Oliver. Felicity turned her head to the side, softening the look in her eyes, knowing he would understand her message: Save Laurel. _

_Without waiting to see a reply in his own eyes she closed hers waiting for the never ending darkness to take her as a gunshot rang out, the sound of Oliver's angry roar ripped through the air along with the slicing of an arrow through the air, and something else Felicity couldn't quite place. _

_She was squeezing her eyes shut when she realized after a moment despite the sound of a gun going off she wasn't dead. Felicity opened her eyes turning sharply to her left, Laurel was still breathing as she stared at Felicity as well. The look of shock on Laurel's face was probably mirrored on her own. Felicity turned to look back at Slade. An arrow pinned a gun to the wall behind them, the gun on her side. While a knife pinned the gun on Laurel's side to the wall. Slade was drawing two very sharp looking swords as he stepped back for a moment. _

_"__Brought a friend I see?" Slade growled. "Do they know the kind of monster you are? Would they stand by you if they knew?"_

_Felicity turned back to see Oliver looking off into the darkness behind him, a blonde stepped into view, and Felicity recognized Sarah in her disguise. She breathed a sigh of relief as she heard yet another arrow whiz through the air slicing through the zip-tie holding her in place on her left arm. She ducked out of the chair hearing Slade moving behind her. She moved just in time as his sword nearly took her head off. Another arrow raced through the air to smack off of Slade's wrist knocking his hand back. There were some kind of bands around Slade's wrists, it looked like he had put them there to keep his wrists from getting shot with an arrow. Another arrow this sliced through Laurel's right handed zip-tie freeing her hand. A knife landed in Slade's chest before she felt someone grab her hand. Sarah kicked Slade in the face knocking him away while Felicity looked up at Oliver's masked face. He cut through the other zip-tie. _

_"__Get out of here." Oliver demanded. _

_"__Laurel," Felicity started to move towards the other woman. Oliver's hand firmly around her arm stopped her. "But..."_

_"_Go_!" Oliver demanded. "Laurel will be fine. Just... go! Please." _

_Something in his voice, his real voice made her think she should just listen. He turned off his voice changer to plead with her, low enough Laurel wouldn't hear him but enough to make her understand. He needed her to leave and right now. She should go, she didn't know why it was important for her to leave without Laurel but he sounded so broken that she didn't want to make it worse. So, she turned and left looking back only to see Slade fighting against Oliver while Sarah freed Laurel. Felicity left the building only to crash into Roy._

_"__Thank God," Roy sounded relieved before he tugged her along. "Come on. I've been given strict orders to get you to Diggle." _

_"__Where is Diggle?" Felicity asked looking around._

_"__Watching Oliver's back." Roy answered. "He's back at the lair watching from your computers, while I was in charge of making sure you got back to Diggle in one piece. Something tells me if I don't, I won't be when Oliver finds out." _

_"__What about Laurel?" Felicity asked looking back at the large warehouse. "We can't just leave her here to stumble around on her own!" _

_"__Sarah is taking care of her." Roy answered helping her into the car as fast as he could. He seemed on edge, like he was worried about something else, but she couldn't figure out why. "Dig's watching Oliver's back, Sarah has Laurel, I have you, and Oliver is taking care of Slade. Those were Oliver's orders. I was afraid to ask questions. He seemed really pissed when he left the lair." _

_Felicity got into the car praying Oliver would come back in one piece as Roy sped off towards Verdant._

* * *

Felicity didn't say anything for a good five minutes after Oliver spoke. Instead the two of them just stood there staring at each other waiting for someone to break the ice. For on of them to be the one to break the tension in the air. However, neither of them seemed to be able to broach it first. Instead the silence just stretched between the two of them with everything neither of them could bring themselves to say to the other. For the second time that night Felicity realized it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop but this time it wasn't quite as menacing as the first. This time it was a comfortable silence. And it was.

Silence wasn't uncommon between her and Oliver despite her tendency to ramble they did spend a lot of time in each other's company without speaking. Moments spent at Queen Consolidated where he would be working in his office while she was at her desk or others when she was in his office working on the couch with him where they didn't speak. Other times just in the conference room. Times when they were at the foundry in the lair together, she would be typing away at her computers while Oliver worked out. The only sounds were typing and the clanging of equipment. The two of them did spend quite a bit of time not talking but it was never an uncomfortable silence because sometimes they didn't need to talk to understand each other. One look into the other's eyes and they would just know what the other was thinking. Movements, breathing, facial expressions, they just knew each other too well.

However, Oliver finally decided to break the silence.

"I was wrong." Oliver said gravely.

"What are you talking about?" Felicity asked carefully. He had regretful face, worried face, and something else she couldn't quite identify.

"I was wrong." Oliver repeated. "When I said 'because of the life that I lead, I just think it's better to not be with someone I could _really _care about.' I was wrong."

"How so?" Felicity asked before she could stop herself. She wanted to smack herself for getting her hopes up, for the way her heart jumped at the thought he might be changing his mind: For her.

"Because the people I care most about are targets anyway." Oliver answered shaking his head. "Slade found my weakness just from watching me. Just because I'm not acting on my feelings doesn't mean they don't exist, doesn't mean the people I care for most in the world aren't still in danger."

"Laurel," Felicity offered feeling a stab at her heart. "Slade put her in danger to get to you."

Oliver laughed humorlessly taking a step closer to her so he invaded her personal space something he does rather often now that she thinks about it. He shook his head like he was trying to figure out the best way to say something before he looked at her with... Hope in his eyes or amusement. Something she couldn't quite place, Oliver usually keeps those emotions in check so she really hasn't had the chance to study those emotions from him before. Not really.

"He put both of you in danger to get to me." Oliver whispered. "I will always care for Laurel. I told her that I had loved her for half of my life, which is the truth. But that half is over now, it's not gone. As it will _always _be a part of me since she was such a big part of my life but..." Oliver struggled with words. "She's not the most important person in the world to me anymore. I'm not in love with her anymore. I... I... Somewhere along the way... I fell in love with you."

Felicity's mouth dropped open in surprise because that was not what she had been expecting him to say, maybe she was hoping he would say it but that was not what she thought he was going to say. She opened and closed her mouth several times as she tried to think of something, anything to say in return but nothing came to mind. Normally, she didn't have this problem, normally it was very easy for her to say something, anything. But right now, not a thing.

"Wow," Oliver nodded. "I swear, that's the first time I've ever seen you speechless. Not even when I revealed myself to you were you speechless."

"Well, your personality became so clear when you pulled back that hood, I wasn't even surprised." Felicity admitted. "This on the other hand, is very surprising because that is not at all on the list of things I thought you would ever say to me. I was sure you were more likely to tell me there's been an alien living among us for years but no one ever even noticed." Oliver chuckled. "Hey, you never know. There could be."

Before she could ramble any further Oliver cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. She had to admit that was a much more effective and much more wonderful way of getting her to stop rambling than having him say 'stop' or placing a hand on her shoulder. Felicity was positive she could get used to being shut up like this. Although, she wasn't sure she could get used to kissing Oliver Queen because her head was spinning and it felt like she was floating. Was that normal? Because no kiss had ever done that to her before. But then again, she hadn't been kissed by anyone like Oliver Queen before. She felt him wrap his arms around her waist pulling her up against his body tightly as well as up off the ground so her mouth was even with his. Felicity slipped her arms around his neck locking him to her as well.

"We should do that more often." Felicity said breathlessly when he pulled away. He let his head fall to her shoulder but she could feel his chuckle rumble through his chest. She ran her fingers over the nape of his neck up through his hair gently massaging his scalp. "Somewhere along the way," she whispered. "I fell in love with you too."

The next thing she knew she was pressed into the bed with Oliver on top of her. He pulled back to look at her and she realized what she had been seeing in his eyes: Hope. That's what he saw when he looked at her, hope for a brighter future, for a happier future. Felicity wrapped her arms around him pulling him closer. She brought his mouth down so she could kiss him.

The two of them spent the night wrapped in each other's arms reassuring the other they were still standing, they were still alive, and they would be for a long time to come. Of course, she got upset with him for not bothering to tell her he was hurt, she found several cuts and scraps along his body that needed to be tended to whether he liked it or not. It was a very long night.

* * *

The following morning was a little more awkward than most because when Felicity woke up she was expecting to see Oliver. What she wasn't expecting to see was Thea sitting in her brother's desk chair looking expectant as Felicity woke up. Felicity blinked twice looking at the younger Queen staring at her. She figured Oliver was still asleep given by the dead weight of his arm over her waist.

"Felicity Smoak right?" Thea asked.

"Yes, that's me." Felicity answered with a nod. "And you're Thea Queen, Oliver's baby sister. Not that your a baby, just that you're younger than he is. His little sister, not that your little, as I said before his _younger_ sister. It's nice to meet you, again, I'm the rambling naked woman in your brother's bed, whose name is Felicity Smoak. And now that I've embarrassed myself into the next century I think I'm going to go back to sleep."

"My brother was scared last night." Thea said sounding absentminded but Felicity knew better. She looked back up at the younger woman. "I've only seen him that type of scared once before. Normally, he's so calm and cool and collected but last night, it was all out the window. The last time I saw him like that was when the jury was deliberating, he got a phone call, said something came up at the office, and then just took off yelling he had to go. I remember when he got that call, he said your name when he answered the phone. I heard him. Then I watched his entire demeanor change as he talked on the phone before he ran off. Couldn't even come up with a good excuse as he 'I have to go.' His voice cracked, I heard his terror or fear something break through. That was the night you were attacked by the Count in Oliver's office but Arrow rescued you. He went to you, didn't he? He was scared for you."

"You're just like him." Felicity smiled. "Very perceptive."

"You're avoiding the question." Thea cocked her head to the side. "Sure you're not a politician the way you dodge questions?"

"Don't interrogate her, Speedy." Oliver mumbled into Felicity's hair. Surprising both of them for being awake since both had thought he was still fast asleep tucked behind Felicity.

"I'd interrogate you, Ollie but you were asleep." Thea looked thoughtful for a moment. "Although, I may have actually gotten more answers out of you if you were asleep."

"How's this for answer?" Oliver asked. "This is my brilliant girlfriend, Felicity Smoak who I love very much. Now I would appreciate it if you would get out so I can bask in having her all to myself which never happens. So, if you don't mind?"

"I want the full story later if I leave right now or I'm not leaving at all." Thea demanded.

"Deal," Oliver agreed swiftly.

"Promise," Thea warned. "I want a promise like the ones I used to make you agree to when I was little."

"Pinky promise?" Oliver groaned into Felicity's hair. "Are you kidding me?"

"Fine," Thea made a show of getting more comfortable in the computer chair she was sitting in as Oliver groaned again behind Felicity. Felicity on the other hand just shook her head closing her eyes to let Oliver handle his sister. "Then I guess I'm just not going anywhere."

"Alright, I promise. Here," Oliver held out his pinky. Thea practically jumped from her chair wrapping her pinky around her brother's much larger one. "Satisfied?"

"Very," Thea nodded. "I'll see you later, Ollie. It was nice to meet you again Felicity Smoak, but we'll have to sit down and have a conversation just you and I. I'm very sure you and I will get along very well. I think I'm going to like her."

"Just for that you're are never allowed to see her, Speedy!" Oliver called after his sister who was already halfway to the door. "Ever!"

"Since when do you decide who I can and can't see?" Felicity interjected teasingly.

"Yeah, Ollie," Thea agreed arms folded over her chest as she fell into teasing her brother with Felicity's help a triumphant grin breaking out across her face. "We are both perfectly capable of deciding who we can spend time with without your help on the matter. And if we want to spend time together so we can get to know each other before we're sister-in-laws, well, then who are you to stop us? It's not like you can lock us up and throw away the key."

"Don't tempt me," Oliver muttered.

"No caveman antics out you now." Felicity teased. "No pounding on your chest telling us what to do. It's really not an attractive quality in these circumstances. Not to say it's attractive in some circumstances, although I suppose it could be."

"And she's off," Thea commented. "Do you do that often?"

"All the time," Oliver answered. "You get used to it. Actually I think it's rather cute, and so is her blush."

"Thank you," Thea said suddenly,seriously looking at Felicity. Felicity shot Thea a confused look as she wondered what on Earth she could possibly be talking about. "For making my brother smile like that. I haven't, I haven't seen him smile like that in a long time. Thank you. And like I said I think you and I are going to get along swimmingly. But I'll leave you two alone... For now."

"That sounded like a threat." Felicity commented once Thea was gone.

"It was." Oliver settled down rolling over her. "She'll keep bothering us until she knows every little detail of our relationship better than we do because that's who she is. But for right now, I don't want to talk about my sister."

"No?" Felicity asked innocently. "I couldn't tell."

"So you don't like the caveman routine?" Oliver nuzzled her chin rubbing his scruffy cheek along her jaw and neck. "Because you don't seem to have a problem with the Tarzan routine."

"Tarzan routine?" Felicity questioned, confused. "You have a Tarzan routine?"

"How many times have I swung around with you?" Oliver asked as he busied himself with kissing the pulse point in her neck. "There was the elevator where you learned that your afraid of heights."

"Being afraid of heights is something of a misnomer." Felicity corrected. "Most people aren't afraid of how far away from the ground they are. They're more afraid of what will happen if they fall that huge distance. They know it won't end well, it will end in death. So, that's what they're afraid of, so truth be told it's more a fear of falling, than a fear of heights."

"Mm," Oliver nodded as her voice trailed off. "Then there was when you came to find me on the island and I swung down to get you off of the mine you stepped on. And the last time was when we went crashing through the window of my office to swing down to another floor together to avoid being turned into Swiss Cheese by machine gunfire."

"I don't know," Felicity shook her head. "We should probably try it without lives in peril, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Oliver mumbled his mouth slipping even lower. "Just not right now. I have other important matters to attend to right now that have nothing to do with swing around."

Felicity opened her mouth to say something else to Oliver but he covered her mouth with his stopping her ramble before she could even start it. As he moved his way south she mock complained to Oliver as he went. His chuckling at her did nothing to stop her because she wanted to hear him laughing and being carefree all day long if she could. There was no other sound like it in the world. Every time she heard it, her heart skipped a beat and swelled with pride at being able to make him so happy. A man with so many burdens needed some lightheartedness in his life, needed to relax, and needed to spend some time not thinking about saving the city or taking down bad guys.

* * *

"Can't say I was expecting to see either one of you here today." Diggle said as he walked into the lair. "I'm pretty sure near death experiences warrant a day off from, well, everything. Especially ones of that caliber."

"We're not here to to go after bad guys." Oliver explained. "I figured you'd want to see Felicity in person after everything that happened. Here is one place where none of us have to be anything but ourselves. Plus she wanted to see you too. So, we figured dinner would be good."

The three of them agreed on getting some Chinese food. Since they can't have it delivered to the club since it would be weird to tell the delivery guy to come down to the secret underground lair beneath the club to give us our food. Felicity joked they would have to give the guy some tip in order for him not to spill the beans about the secret underground lair beneath Verdant. Oliver suggested he could just put the fear of God into him like he does with everyone else. Diggle just suggested picking up the food would be easier than doing all of that because then they won't have to worry about it at all. Which is why Oliver left to go pick up the food for dinner leaving Felicity and Diggle alone in the lair.

"So," she began. "Are you going to tell me what you meant on the phone yesterday or am I going to have to guess? Which I really don't want to do."

"I thought Oliver was going to lose it yesterday." Diggle began. "It started simple enough. You were late to dinner and I thought, 'it's no big deal' because he had mentioned you were busy on your computer before he left to come here. But he kept shaking his head, saying you were never late. You're always on time, which when I thought about it was true. You are. After another minute he called you and you didn't answer your phone. He took off, said he was going back to Queen Consolidated to find you."

* * *

_"__Where are you going?" Diggle asked as Oliver abruptly stood from his seat hanging up his phone, stuffing it into his pocket. _

_"__To find her," Oliver growled. "Something's wrong."_

_"__Try calling her again before you jump to conclusions." Diggle suggested. "She may have put her headphones in or gone to the bathroom."_

_"__Something's wrong, I can feel it." Oliver answered firmly. "I'm going back to Queen Consolidated to find her. Either you can help me or you can get the hell out of my way!" _

_Diggle stepped to the side to let Oliver lead the two of them out of the club to the car. He really didn't want to get in Oliver's way because he was almost positive it was going to mean an arrow through an important body part if he did. Instead he figured it would just be better to help his friend find his other friend. Of course, not that either one of them will admit to each other or to themselves that there's something else going on between the two of them. The tension is so thick sometimes Diggle's sure he's going to need a chainsaw to cut through it one of these days if they don't do something to take care of it. Although, it could be a long while before either of them act on it. Even if they are aware of tension between them they just ignore it and pretend it's not there until someone else tries to come between it. Which, if you ask Diggle is the dumbest thing anyone can do by trying to get between the two of them, it won't end well._

_Diggle and Oliver jumped into the car racing off to Queen Consolidated. When they got there nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. It was the same as it always was. People were filing out for the night, going home since most of them were done for the day. Despite it, Diggle could see the tension in Oliver's shoulders as he practically ran into the building. Diggle followed closely behind explaining to the people Oliver almost ran over in his haste to get upstairs to find Felicity Oliver had forgotten his phone and wallet upstairs. Not the world's greatest excuse but he didn't know what else to say. Telling people Oliver was worried for the life of his Executive Assistant/best friend/IT Tech/something-completely-undefined-that-we-all-ignore would be much harder to then explain again. So, instead Diggle settled for lame excuses to cover their tracks as Oliver and Diggle got into the elevator. However, unfortunately things took a turn for the worse once they made it upstairs because it confirmed Oliver's gut feeling that something was wrong with Felicity._

_Once they arrived upstairs they found the place had a fog taking it over. Diggle and Oliver covered their noses and mouths with the crook of their arms. Diggle raced into the office to find the control panel for the heating system so he could shut it off while Oliver on the other hand stared at Felicity's desk. His jaw and posture went ridged as he glared at the desk like it was torturing him. Diggle turned off the heating system before he joined Oliver just outside his office to stare at the desk as well. Her computer had been run through with an arrow. Oliver knew it was one of his arrows just by looking at the head but what caught his attention was the arrow had been painted half black, half orange. _

_"__Slade," Oliver growled. _

_"__He's dead." Diggle said. "Again, you dropped a building on the guy. I mean that in a literal fashion. There's no way it could be him." _

_"__Who else, Diggle?!" Oliver snapped. "Who else would have done this?! Black and orange! Those are his colors! He took her! It wouldn't be the first time the man escaped death. I thought I killed him on the island and I thought I killed him here. But I was wrong. I've never finished, I've never watched him die. I swear, I won't make that mistake again."_

_"__Oliver," Diggle shook his head. He placed his hand on Oliver's shoulder to stop him from running off like he had started to. "You can't lose your head. Felicity needs you to stay focused."_

_"__I know that!" Oliver growled. _

_Oliver jerked his shoulder out from underneath Diggle's hand before he headed towards the elevator. The room had cleared enough of the smoke both of them were able to talk normally. Oliver jabbed angrily at the elevator button until the doors slide open. Diggle followed Oliver quickly into the elevator before he took off without help. Diggle turned to say something to Oliver but they were interrupted by a shrill ring. Oliver dug into his pocket to pull out the phone he uses to talk to Detective Lance. _

_"__I'm sorry Detective, I'm a little busy at the moment. Can we do this later?" Oliver asked impatiently. "There's something I'm in the middle of."_

_"__My daughter was kidnapped." Detective Lance said desperately. "This phone call worth your time now?"_

_"__What?" Oliver answered, eyes narrowing. "What happened?"_

_"__Laurel was taken." Detective Lance explained. "I was talking to her on the phone when suddenly the phone dropped and I heard her calling for help. I called for back-up but when I got to her apartment she was already gone. There are signs of a struggle but what caught my eye was an arrow left in her front door. It's half black, half orange. But the arrowhead matches the ones you use. What's going on?"_

_"__Someone is using your daughter to lure me out." Oliver answered. _

_"__Do you know where she is?" Detective Lance asked. "Please, you've got to help her or tell me where I can find her or who has her and I'll go get her myself."_

_"__No, Detective." Oliver answered firmly. "Remember when I said I was in the middle of something? Whoever has your daughter also took Felicity. I'll handle it, it's safer for you and every police officer as well as your daughter if you just sit this one out."_

_"__Will she be okay?" Detective Lance asked desperately. "Please, will she be okay?"_

_"__Goodbye, Detective." Oliver hung up despite hearing the protest on the other end of the phone before he turned to face Diggle. _

_"__What's going on?" Diggle asked taking in Oliver's stoic face. _

_"__Laurel was taken by Slade as well." Oliver answered. He looked down at the arrow is his hands. Etched into the arrowhead were a few numbers, a code, a location. "He has Felicity and Laurel."_

_"__What's going on, Oliver?" Diggle asked worriedly. _

_"__I need you to get on Felicity's computers watch my back." Oliver said suddenly. "I'm going to call Roy, I need him to do something for me, and I need to make another phone call."_

_"__No, Oliver I'm coming with you." Diggle said firmly. _

_"__No," Oliver left little to no room for debate. "This isn't up for discussion. Slade will kill you if you come with me. This is my fight with him and he's not going to let anyone else come between that. I need you to wait at the lair, you know how to work the computers better than Roy does. I'll take him with me to get them out while I deal with Slade. I need to make one other call and pray she's close."_

_"__Sarah?" Diggle asked knowingly. "How does she play into this?"_

_"__He's going to make me make a choice between Felicity and Laurel." Oliver answered simply. "Whoever I don't choose will most likely end up with a bullet in their head. Sarah will be a way to stop that from happening and she can help get her sister out."_

_Diggle choose not to ask anymore questions while Oliver made his phone calls to both Roy and then to Sarah, then to Sarah again. By the time they had reached Verdant Oliver had left roughly six messages with Sarah without an answer from her. Oliver stormed into Verdant where Roy was already waiting for the two of them when they came rushing in. Roy jumped from his seat to follow the two of them as Oliver angrily punched in the code for downstairs so he could change. Roy shot Diggle a worried look who simply sighed before following Oliver downstairs into the lair where he was already getting his stuff to suit up. _

_"__What's going on?" Roy asked when he thought it was safe. "All you said over the phone was get to Verdant now. What did I miss?"_

_"__Felicity and Laurel have been kidnapped." Oliver answered simply grabbing his bow. His gaze lingered on it longer than necessary Diggle noticed, then he remembered Felicity had given Oliver that bow. A custom made bow, just for him. "Put your hoodie on your coming with me."_

_"__You want my help?" Roy asked. "Because that didn't go so well last time."_

_"__I need you to get Felicity out." Oliver answered. He walked closer to Roy until he was in his personal space. "You'll wait outside, when she comes out, you will bring her here. You won't stop for anything or anyone. You will come straight here or else there will be much bigger problems in your future. Is that clear?" _

_"__Crystal," Roy answered. "But what about Laurel?"_

_"__If Sarah doesn't show, what are you going to do, Oliver?" Diggle asked. "We need a new plan. I should come with you. Give you an extra set of hands if Sarah doesn't show."_

_"__No, I need you watching my back with Felicity's computers. Roy and I will be flying blind without you and someone needs to be here." Oliver answered. "I'll take care of Laurel if Sarah doesn't show." _

_"__Oliver," Diggle said warningly. "If he's going to make you choose, how...?" _

_"__I don't know," Oliver shook his head. He sounded more broken than Roy had ever heard him before and he couldn't help but feel like he was being left out of the conversation, like he was missing a very important part that made Oliver look like his puppy had just been kicked. "I don't know, Diggle. I'll try to save them. But..."_

_"__Am I missing something?" Roy asked carefully wondering if he was going to get shot with an arrow for speaking. "You two are talking like I'm missing a piece of the conversation."_

_"__Let's go," Oliver said gruffly. _

_He left no room for a discussion on the matter so Roy let the subject drop without question. Sometimes, that was the easiest thing to do when it came to Oliver Queen aka Arrow. There was something bothering him, but it was the worst thing in the world if Roy didn't know what it was. He had his orders from Oliver, he would get Felicity to safety like he wanted. That was all he needed to know. _

_"__Oliver!" Diggle halted Oliver from exiting with Roy who stepped away to give them a minute. "Just answer one thing before you go; do you know what you're doing?"_

_"__No," Oliver answered honestly pain clouding his eyes. "But I can't let her die." _

* * *

"Oliver didn't know Sarah was coming." Felicity said slowly trying to process that information. "He made an entire plan based on just getting me out, getting me to safety because... Because he didn't know if Laurel would make it out of there alive. He didn't know she would show up to save Laurel, he thought he was on his own. He was ready to let her die to save me. He choose me over her...?"

"There was no choice to make." Oliver said gravely from the doorway. "I'd choose you, every time. I don't know why that surprises you so much."

"Oliver," Felicity said slowly.

"I saw what you were thinking when he demanded I choose." Oliver shook his head. "I saw how ready you were to let me go, to die, so I could save Laurel. And I couldn't help but think of all the things I had done wrong if you thought I could honestly let you die. I wanted to take everything I had done to push you away back in that moment. I wanted to make you understand that the most important person in my life was you and that I don't know what I would do without you. I wouldn't be able to get up in the morning, run my company, and I definitely wouldn't be able to do any of this." Oliver turned solemn. "My whole life since I got on the Queen's Gambit has been filled with nothing but darkness. I've been filled with nothing but darkness. But you managed to find the light in me, the good, and pull it out to the surface. Without you, I can't be myself. I'd lose myself. I need you, more than I've ever needed anyone. There was never a choice. And I'm sorry I ever let you think there was one."

"That's beautiful man, really." Diggle said seriously. Then he turned slightly teasing. "By the way, it took the two of you long enough to pull your heads out of your asses to admit you care for one another as more than just good friends and partners who fight crime and injustice together."

"Did he just 'I told you so' us?" Oliver asked.

"Little bit," Felicity nodded she turned to Oliver thoughtfully. "You're forgiven for taking so long on one condition."

"What's that?" Oliver asked warily.

"I get my own satellite." Felicity teased. "I think it would probably make life a lot easier for us. Much more access that way."

"Done," Oliver shrugged.

"Are you serious?" Felicity asked baffled.

"Absolutely," Oliver smiled. "We can even paint green."

"Paint what green?" Roy asked from the doorway. "And, seriously, what is it with you and all the green? Why don't you try branching out? There are plenty of other good colors out there that will work just fine."

"Like red?" Oliver asked mock condescendingly. "You're late."

"Look who's talking, the king of being late." Roy teased walking further into the room. "Thea says you've got being late perfected better than anyone else. So, are you going to tell me what we're painting green or do I have to guess? Because truth be told I hate guessing games. It's like, why can't you just tell me and get it over with?"

"A satellite," Diggle answered. "Oliver's thinking about buying Felicity her own satellite and painting it green."

Roy's eyebrows raised in a questioning manner as he looked back and forth to each team member. He had gotten used to Diggle's dry sense of humor so he was trying to figure out whether or not this was some kind of joke. A giggle or smile from Felicity who was better at figuring out when the guys were teasing him than he was usually gave him the answers he was looking for. However, at this very moment she looked as serious as the other two about this discussion.

"Well, alright." Roy answered walking into the room to sit down with them. "What's for dinner?"

"Chinese," Oliver handed Roy a bag.

"So, what's the occasion for buying Felicity a satellite?" Roy asked carefully. He didn't want to offend Oliver or something. If he learned one thing training with Oliver it was to never go near Felicity or look at her the wrong way because it just might get him killed. "Or did she just put in for one with the boss?"

"It was her condition for forgiveness on taking so long to admit I have feelings for her." Oliver said deadpanned and brutally honest.

"Wow," Roy turned to look at Felicity. "I think I'm impressed."

"Much more easily than the two of them." Felicity pointed out. "These two still think they have to ask if I can hack in somewhere or if I can find some guy based on the grade he got on a spelling test when he was in the 3rd grade. Which I have to say is highly insulting sometimes because you'd think by now they would get used to it and just expect. Although, I suppose it's nice they don't take me for granted except for once involving a Mr. Barry Allen but let's not get into that argument again because it was _not _very fun the first time through."

"Today a good day for your rambling?" Roy teased.

"Actually yes," Oliver nodded.

"By the way, it's about time." Roy waved back and forth between the two of them before he reached into his pocket to hand Diggle a 20 dollar bill. "Here, you win. It took the two of you long enough to figure out what everyone else knows."

"Hey!" Felicity grabbed the 20 out of Dig's hand. "What is this?"

"This," Diggle took it back. "Is my payment because I won the bet we had going about when the two of you would actually give in and decide to give the relationship thing a try. I guessed sooner rather than later."

"I was in it for the long haul." Roy shrugged.

"Never do that again." Felicity shook her head.

"Don't put us through the 'will they, won't they' ever again, and we definitely won't." Diggle shook his head. "Drove me nuts the both you. I swear it's easier when your jumping off rooftops or flat-lining than it is when you're trying to figure out all of your relationships."

"On the bright side finding out how the felt did help me understand why you called him gooey." Roy shook his head. "The last thing in the world Oliver Queen could be called by anyone but you or maybe his sister is gooey because he is a very terrifying person."

* * *

_Despite knowing he really shouldn't ask Oliver anything about what happened with the conversation he didn't understand that happened in the lair he couldn't stop himself. And he wanted to kick himself the minute the words left his mouth because there was nothing he wanted more than to take them back when Oliver turned to look at him with a menacing look. One that would send anyone who didn't really want an answer heading for the hills while the entire time thinking why on Earth was I working with a man who won't hesitate to kill me because I said something stupid?_

_"__What was that back there?" Roy asked. "What did I miss? What's really going on?"_

_"__You don't need answers right now." Oliver growled sounding more on edge, more tense, and more ready to pounce than he had ever heard him before. "We have to get moving so let's go."_

_Roy would have taken his own motorcycle to follow Oliver but he knew he would be leaving with at least Felicity who more likely than not was wearing a dress or a skirt. He figured taking a car would be a better idea which Oliver agreed to handing him the keys to the car he normally uses to get around the city as Oliver Queen. Oliver on the other hand drove his motorcycle down the street so fast it was almost too hard to keep up with a car but Roy held his own. They raced through the streets of Starling City while Roy had no idea where they were going, he just followed hoping he would get there, and back in one piece. Against his better judgment, his survival instincts telling him to just shut up and leave well enough alone he couldn't just leave it there. He wanted to know what was going on. He hated it when Oliver kept things from him, important things. He might understand there were certain things he didn't want to talk about but it didn't make it any easier to not know what was going on. To just completely trust in someone else. Sometimes, it's nice to see the whole picture without just constantly following someone. That's not who Roy is, just like it isn't Oliver either._

_"__What's going on?" Roy asked again. "What was I missing?"_

_"__We don't need to talk about this now." Oliver snapped. "We have more important things to worry about right now than your need to have information!"_

_"__I get that!" Roy snapped back. "But right now we're on our way, we have nothing better to do than talk so tell me what I was missing before I lose it here."_

_There was silence on the other end of the comm before he heard Oliver sigh softly. _

_"__Slade, wants me to choose between them." Oliver answered. "He'll rig it somehow so I can only save one of them. That's why I needed Sarah here to help me. She could save Laurel while I'll save Felicity but without her. I don't know what I'm going to do."_

_"__Let me come in with you." Roy insisted. "I can help."_

_"__No," Oliver said softly. "I need you to get Felicity to safety."_

_"__If he's going to make you choose and only one will come out alive why do you keep saying Felicity?" Roy asked softly. "Unless of course you've made your decision. She's who your going to save if you can only save one of them. Isn't she? That's why it's so important I'm on the outside because I can get her away from everything faster than if she had to wait for a fight to finish with the potential she could still be in danger. You're trying to save her."_

_"__You're very perceptive, Roy Harper." Oliver said._

_"__Did you just, give me a compliment?" Roy asked confused. "I'm sorry, I thought I was talking to Oliver Queen billionaire by day, hero by night. I must have the wrong number."_

_"__Very funny," Oliver sounded disapproving. Roy could almost picture him shaking his head. "Don't make me regret not putting an arrow in your chest."_

_"__Your sister would kill you and you know it." Roy pointed out._

_"__She'd never know it was me." Oliver said far too seriously for Roy's liking. _

_There was a silence as they continued to make their way through the city with little to no regard for lights or other people. Oliver was too focused on where he was going to care about all the other people in the city right now which let Roy understand how awful this must for him. Roy kept thinking about when she had been taken by the copycat hoods, how scared he was that he would never get the chance to see her again. He couldn't imagine how he would feel if someone was using her just to get at him, just to spite him, or just to draw him out only to watch her die. The very thought made Roy sick to his stomach. The very idea of Thea being in danger made him sick but the idea she was in danger because of him made it all the worse. He hoped she would never be in a position like that because of him. But then he realized working with Arrow wouldn't draw all the right kind of attention, it would draw a lot of bad, and there may come a time when she's placed in danger because of him. Roy just hoped he was up to the task of protecting her._

_"__Roy," Oliver said suddenly sounding grave. "I need you to _promise _me something."_

_"__Okay," Roy agreed hesitantly. _

_"__Promise me that no matter what you'll get Felicity to safety." Oliver said after a moment. "Promise you'll keep her safe no matter what happens to me."_

_"__Wait a minute," Roy said. "You're coming back, aren't you?" _

_"__I don't know." Oliver answered honestly. "All I know is that I need for her to be safe. I need you to promise me that no matter what happens, that you'll keep her safe. You'll protect her if I'm not here to do it myself. Promise me."_

_"__Shouldn't you ask Diggle?" Roy asked carefully. "Why ask me?"_

_"__I've seen the way you care about my sister." Oliver answered. "No matter how much I wish she was still 12 thinking the only boy in the world she wanted to be around was me she cares for you in a different way than I've seen her for anyone else. You've been good for her like she has for you. I know because of that you're a good guy who is going to be around my family for a long time. That's enough for me. Besides, telling Dig I may not come back is a good way to get him to come with me when I need him to stay where he is. So, will you?"_

_"__I promise," Roy answered firmly. "I won't let anything happen, I swear on my life. She'll be safe."_

_"__Don't make me regret trusting you." Oliver warned._

_"__Is this one of those if you end regretting it than I will too sort of things?" Roy asked carefully. _

_"__Yes," Oliver answered simply. _

_Roy just nodded thoughtfully as he continued to follow Oliver through the city until they reached their destination. Oliver had Roy wait outside while he circled around then went in leaving him to wait for Felicity to come out. Oliver merely said he would direct her towards him and when he saw come out of the building to come get her. Roy agreed but waiting was hard, not really knowing what was going on was hard, and the more he stood there and thought the more worried he became about what he had gotten himself into. Promises were not something Roy takes lightly, everyone else in the world might but he won't. In that moment he realized that if Oliver never returned Roy would be keeping Felicity safe for the rest of his life, not that he would take back his promise but that would be a big job. And somehow he just knew Oliver would find someway to come back and haunt him if anything happened to her. Roy felt his hands start to shake but he closed his eyes thinking of Thea, she would tell him he was being silly, and it calmed him just like always. Roy took a deep breath keeping himself in check as best as he could while he waited. _

_So, maybe being a sidekick to the Arrow wasn't as glamorous as one might think but it was definitely something he would never regret doing with his life. It was good and right. It made him feel like he was actually making the city a better place. _

* * *

"When did you call me gooey?" Oliver asked blinking confused at Felicity. "Because I don't remember you saying that before."

"She said it the day I ran that errand for you, the Arrow you, at the lab." Roy shrugged. "She said it just before I came in to meet you, Oliver Queen for a meeting."

"You never ran an errand for me at a lab." Oliver said confused.

"Yes, he did." Felicity interjected. "I called him pretending to be you because a sample of your blood popped up at the lab. Detective Lance called me to warn me about them planning to run a test on it in order to find out your identity but since you were in the middle of another problem I figured asking Roy to just run in and grab it for us wouldn't be a problem. It all worked out, I got the sample, and then I destroyed the sample. I must have forgotten to tell you."

"That explains why you said you liked that song over the phone." Roy chuckled. "It was the same one you had playing when I came back, plus it was also an explanation as to why she was so adamant about delivering the package for me."

"Could we go back?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah," Diggle agreed. "How in the middle of all of that did Oliver being gooey come up? Because last time I checked gooey is not an adjective I would use to describe him."

"You are gooey," Roy nodded. "To her."

"What?" Oliver turned sharply towards Felicity who merely shrugged. "What are you talking about?"

"I've seen the way you look at her." Roy shook his head with a smirk breaking out on his face. "You do get gooey when you look at her. Your entire demeanor changes. It goes from being so heavy to light, happy, and warm. When you're around her you act the same way, compliments come flying out of your mouth more often than not. She's the only person I've seen make you smile on a regular basis and that doesn't even mean she has to say something, sometimes just walking in the room is enough. With her you do have a gooey inside but with everyone else, well, they better run because you are not gooey for anyone else. So, don't worry, your reputation of being a big scary guy is still intact, just not with her. Besides, I doubt it would matter anyway, she's the only person I've seen go toe to toe with you and win."

"Very perceptive," Felicity commented.

"I'm not gooey," Oliver said indignantly.

"Keep telling yourself that," Diggle chuckled.

All of them dove into topics similar teasing Oliver as often as they could about being gooey. Which caused Oliver to request Felicity never call him that to anyone else, ever again. Felicity promised not to further cause dents to his oh-so sensitive ego, then she took to mocking him about that. The four of them took to an easy conversation after everything that happened. They gave the bag guys a free pass that night deciding it would probably be best to resume all crazy activities the following day after the near death experiences had been everyone the day before. A mental health day because a brush with death is never easy. For the team it was another day, for Felicity and Oliver it was a new beginning together. It would never be easy, they will argue, they will get mad at each other, they will both be stubborn, they will laugh together, fight side by side, fight for each other, they will make up with each other, sleep together, smile together, work together, and spend time together. But it doesn't really matter what they do, as long as they do it together because they are a stronger, more formidable team when they stand together as PARTNERS.

**THE END**

* * *

**A.N. Well, I hope you liked it! Drop a review! PLEASE! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Nothing makes me happier than to know you're reading my story even if it's a bad review just let me know what you think. GOOD OR BAD! Just DON'T BE RUDE. **

**Thanks for reading! ;)**


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